Fastener.



PATENTBD DEC. 6, 1904.

J. D. STIRGKLER.

FASTENER.

APPLICATION FILED rm], 9,1901.

N0 MODEL.

m 9) WEMZIML JOHN D. STIROKLER, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR, BYMESN E Patented December 6, 1904:

FFIQIQ.

ASSIGNMENTS, TO UNITED STATES FASTENER COMPANY OF PORTLAND, MAINE, ACORPORATION OF -MAINE.

FASTENER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 776,957, dated December6, 19042.

Application filed February 9, 1901. Serial No. 46,645. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN D. STIRCKLER, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State ofMassachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Fasteners,of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of thisspecification,

in explaining its nature.

The invention is an improvement upon that described in my Letters PatentNo. 647,889, dated April 17, 1900; and it comprises a onepiece ballmember of a separable fastener of IS the ball-and-socket order, havingfor its distinguishing characteristics a preformed inner flange, anintegral neck, a formative outer flange reduced to finished shape in theact of setting the member, andan integral yielding 2 ball or engagingsection consisting of a number of outwardly-bowed yielding sidesintegral at their inner ends with the formative flange and at theirouter ends with the top or outer end of the ball.

2 5 Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan of the ball memberbefore it is set. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section thereof. Fig. 3 is aview in plan of the member in its set shape secured to material. Fig. 4Cis a view in section of said set member and material upon the dottedline of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a View in elevationof a modification in whichthe neck is represented as having vertical slits.

Referring to the drawings, A is the prei formed complete inner flange. Bis the neckforming portion of the set member. O is the part which isconverted into the outer finished flange in the act of setting themember, and D is the integral yielding head or ball.

4 The parts A B O are like similar parts of my said patent and serve toprovide means for setting the member to the finished shape representedin Fig. 4 in the manner described in said patent.

The head or ball D comprises the outwardlyyielding-bowed divisions orsections d, which are integral at their inner ends with theflangeforming part O and at their outer ends with the ball end (2. (SeeFig. 3.) The divisions or sections (Z are separated from each other byspaces (Z which increase in width from each end. The yieldingball-section is prcferably of its finished form before the member issetthat is, the act of forming the outer finishing-flange in the settingof the member to the material does not necessarily modify the shape oraction of the yielding ball-section of the fastener although, of course,if desired, the ball-section may be more or less formed in the act ofsetting the member.

It will be noticed that the unset member comprises a hollow single-pieceyielding ballforming member of a fastener, which has, before setting, atone end a finished or complete flange, at the other end a yieldingengaging section or means for forming it, and integral intermediatesections consisting of the neck and an incipient flange-formingsection,which is converted into a complete flange in the act of settingthe fastener. This insures the securing of the yielding ball member tothe material by simply transforming the outer or incipientflange-forming section into a complete or finished flange in the act ofsetting the member to the material or to the shape shown in Figs. 3 andehwhero the flange-forming section C of Fig. 1 is represented astransformed to the finished flangeO. The outer edge of the flange Obeing doubled back on itself will have a certain amount of go and comeduring any manipulation of the ball and will cooperate with the slittedball to allow additional freedom of movement to its yielding sections.

While I have represented the engaging section as formed of a number ofyielding out wardly-bowed sections or divisions, I would say that I donot limit myself to the number of these sections or to their width withrespect to each other and that my invention would be practiced if theengaging section had but one of the said yielding bowed divisions, whilethe remainder of the engaging section was integral or in one piece. Theengaging section, however, is substantially spherical in shape at thepoint where it engages the neck,

and this is of advantage because it enables the engaging section as itenters the mouth of the socket to center itself, and thus Where the armsare symmetrically disposed about it distribute the yielding strain uponall the arms With substantial evenness, and, moreover, the arms beingjoined together at the entering end of the engaging portion, as Well asat its base, the structure is strong and durable.

Fig. 5 is a view in elevation of a modification Which represents theemployment of slits in the neck for the purpose of accomplishing thesame end as the corresponding structure of my said patent, No. 67,889.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States- I 1. As an improved article ofmanufacture, a single-piece structure for a complete yielding ballmember of a ball-and-socket fastener, said structure having an engagingsection, a neck, a partially-formed continuous outer flange and apreformed continuous inner flange, said engaging section beingsubstantially spherical in shape and comprising one or moreoutwardly-bowed yielding arms integral with each other at their outerends and with said neck at their inner ends, \vhereby When engaging asocket-mouth the said engaging section may center itself and theyielding strain may be distributed substantially evenly aboutwardly-bowed arms or divisions integral With each other at their outeror engaging ends and with said neck at their inner ends, whereby thesaid ball member will center itself in the mouth of the socket memberand the strain in passing through said mouth Will be distributed evenlyabout said engaging section, as described.

3. The single-piece, hollow yielding ball member of a fastener having acontinuous outer flange folded inwardly, a spherical engaging section atthe inner end of said folded flange, said engaging section comprisingone or more yielding outwardly-bowed arms or divisions appreciablyspaced from one another but integral with each other at their outer orengaging ends and at the neck formed by the inner circumference of theinwardly-folded flange, and an inner attaching means.

JOHN D. STIROKLER.

In presence of M. D. NEWMAN, P. Q. DUMARESE.

